Guard for lever-openings.



V. P. WILKINS.

GUARD FOR LEVER OPENINGS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 30,1917.

1 ,278, 271 PatentedSept. 10,1918.

VANCE P. WILKINS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

GUARD FOR LEVER-OPENIIQ GS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 10, 1918.

Application filed April 30, 1917. Serial No. 165,389.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, VANCE P. \VILKINS, a

' citizen of the l'nited States, residing at Chicago, in the county ofCook and State of Illinois. have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Guards for Lever" Openings, of which the following is aspecl fication. Y

My invention relates to motor vehicles, and has for its principalobjects to produce a device that will protect the interior of anautomobile from cold weather in winter, and from dust and dirt insummer;'to produce a device of that character that can be applied to anopening into the closed interior of any kind of car; to produce a devicethat can be put in position without the aid of screws, nails or anyother attaching devices; to produce a device that Wlll occupy theminimum of space; to produce a device of the class described thatcompletely closes the slot around the control levers or the openingaround the foot pedals; to produce such a device of only two principalarts; to produce such a device that will not e 1mpaired by the feet ofthe driver; to produce a device that will completely protect the driverwhile operating the automobile; to produce a very serviceable and simpledevice of the character described; to produce a device that can becheaply made; and in gen era]. to produce a novel and superior deviceofthe. class referred to.

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the interior portion of the driverscompartment of an auto showing my device in place on the foot pedals andthe control lever;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical section of the devices as attached to aplurality of foot pedals;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of a single device on the same scale as Fig.2; and

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the base with the top removed.

In the accompanying drawings to show my invention as applied I haveshown the interior of the forward part of a Ford car having inclosingcurtains for protecting the interior. This makes the car entirelyinclosed except for the openings in the floor through which the controllever, and foot pedals project. In said drawings 11 is the horizontalfloor board portion while 12 is the inclined toe board part. Over thisentire flooring there is customarily placed a mat 13 of rubber or somesimilar material. This mat is provided with holes or openings tocoincide with the openings for the lever and foot pedals. The control.lever 14 projects through one of these openings which must be ofsufficient length to permit the lever to move in both directions itsfull stroke.

The devices consist of a base 15 shown separately in Fig. 1. This basecomprises a horizontal part 16, and a vertical part 17. These parts 16and 17 are integral and bent to the shape shown. The part or base 15 isdesigned to surround the floor opening through which the'control leverprojects. The flange 16 lies on the floor 11, and under the mat 13. Thearrangement being such that the opening in the base 15 is the same sizeas the floor opening, and the flange 16 extends along the floor andunder the mat 13 for a distance equal to its width. This is a verydesirable method of holding the device in place without the use ofscrews, etc.

Secured,to the vertical flange part 17 of the base 15 is a hood 18 ofclosely woven fabric or some composition material that is flexible yetimpervious to moisture, drafts and dust. This hood 18 is secured to thepart 17 by means of rivets 19 passing through the holes 19' in flange17. The riveted end being in the inside of the flange 17 and the outerend of said rivets being smooth. On the upper part of the flange 17 area plurality of outwardly projecting points 21 which, in conjunction withthe rivets 19, hold the hood 18 in place on the base 15. The hood 18 issmaller at the top than at the bottom, and may be the shape shown inFig. 3 or it may have both sides equally angled. At the upper and smallend of the hood is provided a pocket 22 by folding the cloth back uponitself and stitching or otherwise securing same. In this pocket is acord 23 for the purpose of puckering the open small end around thecontrol lever. This effectually seals the aperture against incoming dustand dirt. It is obvious that this cloth permits perfect freedom ofmovement of the lever in both directions while at all times the upperend of the hood remains closed around the lever.

In Fig. 1 there is shown a plurality of foot pedals 25 with the devicein place. These devices are individually like the one on the controllever. the difference lies in the way they are arranged. In this inmiddle of the three devices in place first and then putting down thedevices that go on either side and lastly pulling up that portion of themat surrounding the opening sufliciently to permit it to pass the flangeon the outside of the device. The mat is then permitted to fall back inplace. In this position it rests on one side and two ends of each of theoutside devices. The inside flanges of these two outside devices restupon the side flanges of the center device thereby firmly holding it inposition.

The vertical flange 17 prevents undue wear upon the device which isapparent where devices made entirely of cloth are used. To take off anyof the foot pedal devices all that must be done is to lift up the mat 13until it clears the tops of pedals 25, then either of the end devicesmay be raised after the string 23 has been loosened. To remove thecenter device it is not necessary to take ofi the end ones but they areeach merely slid sidewise off the side flanges of the center device,sufiiciently to clear the flanges 16 of the center device which can thenbe lifted up.

Changes may be made in the details, but the scope of this invention isto be gaged by the claims.

I claim 1. In a device of the class described, a member adapted to lieon the floor of an automobile, and under the floor mat, a hood securedto the upper end thereof, and means at the upper end of the hood forclosing same.

2. As an article of manufacture, a base member adapted to be held inplace by the floor mat of an auto, and a flexible member securedthereto, and means for closing the end of said flexible member.

3. In a device for closing the opening in the floor of an auto throughwhich a controlling lever projects, a base member adapted to surroundsaid opening, a cloth hood secured to the base member provided with anopen end, and a cord for said open end for c osing the opening inthefloor of the auto.

4. In a device of the character referred to, a base member comprisinghorizontal and vertical flanges adapted to be placed over the opening inthe floor of an auto through which the controlling lever projects, thehorizontal flange of said base member lying between the floor, and themat therefor, a hood member adapted to be secured to the verticalflange, said hood member having an opening at its upper end,

- and means for closing said open end around the control lever.

5. The combination with an automobile, and the control lever therefor,of a device comprising, a base member oval in plan having a horizontaland a vertical flange, said horizontal flange adapted to lie on thefloor, and below the floor mat for holding said device in place, a hoodmember hav ing an open base and top, said vertical flange furnishingmeans for securing the hood thereto, projections on said vertical flangefor holding said hood in place, said hood having a circular passagewayin the upper open end, and a cord for said passageway for closing theopen top.

VANCE P. WILKINS.

